


Babel

by celestialteapot



Category: Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: F/M, Father Son Relationships, Fluff, Sarek loves his wife, Vulcan's are stubborn, angsty fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-22
Updated: 2016-09-28
Packaged: 2018-08-16 17:29:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8111107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celestialteapot/pseuds/celestialteapot
Summary: Snippets of time before, during and after the events of 'Journey to Babel'.





	1. Lying

Sarek absently picked at his dinner, his mind distracted and his stomach in turmoil. The Healer has warned him that Benjisidrine may cause a loss of appetite and a certain amount of stomach distress but he had hoped such side effects would not affect him.

“Is dinner not to your liking?” Amanda asked gently as she watched her distracted husband toy absently with a tomato. 

Sarek caught himself. “Forgive me, it is most acceptable. I find that I am not hungry.”

“That's okay.” She smiled at him. “I'll put it in the cooler. You could always heat it later if you want.” She began to clear the table.

It wasn't unusual for Sarek to skip meals when his mind was elsewhere, so she thought nothing of it. She hadn’t been pleased when Sarek returned from a meeting with the High Council and informed her he was to represent Vulcan at the upcoming Babel Conference, the current Ambassador being...indisposed (Amanda was always reminded of the human habit of finding euphemisms to talk about uncomfortable topics whenever the subject of  _ pon farr  _ came up) but she accepted that Sarek was the most logical choice for replacement. Still, she was concerned. Sarek had been unusually distant these past few days and she sensed there was something troubling him deeply.

She turned as Sarek brought the last of the plates into the kitchen. “I'm retiring to meditate.” 

***

Amanda put down her coffee and marked her place in her book before padding barefoot to answer the door. A young Vulcan wearing the robes of a junior aide greeted her.

“Forgive the disturbance of your evening, T’Sai Amanda, I am Sten an aide to Ambassador Stiak. I have important documents for Ambassador Sarek.”

“Thank you, I will see he receives them.”

The Vulcan hesitated. “I am instructed to hand them directly to the Ambassador.”

“He's in meditation but you are welcome to come in and wait for him.”

“I thank you, T’Sai Amanda.”

He followed her into the living room, shivering slightly at the difference in temperature. “Would you prefer to wait in the garden?” 

“If that is acceptable.” She was amused at how relieved he looked. 

***

After an hour, Amanda took Sten a cool glass of water and found the young Vulcan studying an aloe vera plant most intently.

“It's called  _ aloe barbadensis miller _ , or more commonly aloe vera.” He took the water. 

“I have never seen such a plant.”

“They used to be very common on Earth and were once used in healing gels. The juice from them is rather lovely but it disagrees with Vulcans.”

“Your garden is visually pleasing.” 

Amanda smiled, high praise indeed! “I'll fetch my husband for you.”

“Please do not interrupt his meditation for me.”

“If I don't you may end up staying the night, besides wives are allowed to interrupt their husbands.” 

***

She allowed her mind to brush against Sarek’s as she approached the meditation chamber. 

“Sarek?”

He opened his eyes. “Yes, Amanda?”

“I don't mean to interrupt but there's a young man in the garden with some documents he can only give to you.”

“I see.” He moved to stand and in that moment he stumbled as a frightening wave of dizziness hit him. Amanda reached out to him, her hand catching his forearm. She momentarily felt pain, confusion and fear before he regained his control.

“There's something you're not telling me.” 

He looked at her and almost confessed everything but something stopped him. “It is nothing, my wife. My...knee is still weak, I put too much weight on it as I stood. There is nothing for you to be concerned about.”

Three days ago Sarek had come home from the Science Academy limping. He claimed he had tripped on the uneven ground, jarring his knee and grazing his hands. This had worried her greatly as the only times she had ever known him to be clumsy were when he was extremely fatigued or ill. 

“Sarek.”

“I assure you I am quite well.” He touched his fingers to hers. 

***

Sten rose as Sarek walked into the garden.

“You have some documents for me?”

“Yes, Ambassador.” Sten took a PADD from his satchel and handed it over. “Details of your transportation and accommodation.”

Sarek glanced at the transportation details. “Enterprise.”  _ Spock’s ship.  _ He felt a sudden flash of intense happiness from Amanda and it was in that moment he knew he could not tell her about his heart attacks.

***

As they awaited the shuttle which would take them to the Enterprise, Sarek swallowed thickly at his rising nausea. He had been feeling very unwell and that had only increased in the last few hours. Turning he crossed the waiting area to the small bathroom.

Closing the door behind him he splashed cold water onto his face hoping that this would help. It didn't and he made a hasty move towards a cubicle.

He hadn’t eaten that day and all the came up was an acrid bile. He spat the foul taste from his mouth and shakily flushed the toilet. Opening the door he was alarmed to see one of his aides standing there.  _ Not  his aide _ he mentally corrected, his own diplomatic staff had been reassigned on his retirement. For the duration of this mission he had a temporary staff who were usually assigned to Ambassador Stiak.

“You are unwell, Ambassador.” Solac, the senior aide, observed. 

“Space travel does not agree with me.”

Solac looked doubtful. “We are still in the spaceport.”

“Nor does the anticipation of space travel. Do not concern yourself, I am quite well.” The lie came easily now.

The Vulcan nodded and Sarek followed him from the bathroom.

He rejoined Amanda, touching her fingers with his. He felt her concern and sent reassurance across their bond. They were interrupted by Solac bringing Sarek a glass of kaasa juice.

“My daughter is similar afflicted.” He explained. “My wife and I have found kaasa juice counters the gastric distress she experiences.” Sarek took the glass and Solac left them alone.

“You haven't been travel sick in years.” Amanda commented, looking carefully at her husband of almost forty years. In their early years of marriage, Sarek had struggled with frequent bouts of motion sickness during intergalactic travel but he eventually conquered the affliction.

“I will see a Healer on our return from Babel if it pleases you but I assure you, I am well.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a good chance that Sarek spent most of his time on the Enterprise (before ending up in sickbay) feeling dizzy, nauseous and generally really unwell. Stuff which his wife would have noticed but I figured Sarek had a reasonable explanation for everything which sounded completely logical at the time.


	2. Unfortunate

Sarek took his seat in the shuttlecraft. He still felt nauseous but Solac had been right, the kaasa juice had eased his stomach...unfortunately, he realised with a little bit of dismay Benjisidrine had a diuretic effect and now he was uncomfortable for an entirely different reason.

He shifted slightly in an attempt to ease the mounting pressure on his bladder, hoping that no one would observe his discomfort.

“Still feeling sick?” Amanda asked in a low voice.

“No.” He leaned towards her, lowering his voice further. “I find that I am in need of relief.”

“You need a wee?” She translated.

He grimaced. “That is what I said, aduna.” 

Smiling, she patted him on the knee. “Ten minutes. Although if you really can’t wait I’m sure we can find you a bottle.”

Sarek gave her a look, which only made her laugh. His aides regarded him curiously.

  
What was perhaps the longest nine point six minutes of his life passed before the shuttle reached the Enterprise and a further four point three minutes passed until they were conveyed to their cabin. After that, Sarek made the decision to avoid drinking unless circumstances compelled him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For some reason, I have the urge to really make Sarek regret not telling Amanda he wasn't well.


	3. In Sickbay

Sarek swallowed thickly and concentrated hard on not throwing up. He swallowed again.

“Nauseous?” Christine asked quietly. He nodded, not trusting himself to open his mouth. Another wave of nausea hit him hard as Christine pushed a bowl towards him. She resisted the urge to rub his back and quickly swapped the full bowl for an empty one without touching him unnecessarily. 

After it was over, Sarek leaned back and felt a little better. Christine handed him a glass of water.

“I'll get you an anti-emetic and something to help you settle.” She gave him a smile and departed to the pharmacy.

\---

Bones picked up the more detailed overnight medical reports as Christine gave him the highlights.

“Mr Spock’s blood reproduction rate is down, no issues during the night. Captain Kirk had a good night, no pain or residual bleeding.” Bones nodded. 

“If they behave themselves today they can go back to their quarters. And Sarek?”

“No reported pain but he was sick during the night. I gave him an anti-emetic and an anti-anxiety to help him settle.”

“Hopefully that's just his body reacting to leftover anaesthesia in his system, never can tell with damn Vulcan physiology.” Christine smiled at him and left him to his paperwork. 

\---

Christine brought in a trolley of food and began serving the three patients. She put a bowl of soup down in front of Sarek.

“You probably don't feel like eating but try.” She gave him a smile and turned to Spock. “You have no excuses. Eat all the soup or Dr McCoy will feed you himself.”

Spock quietly accepted the soup, glancing over to his father. They had not had much time to talk but he was very much hoping that later they might share a game of chess. 

Sarek took a careful mouthful of soup. His stomach had settled somewhat but he still felt queasy and it was a disquieting feeling. He felt Amanda's mind brush against his as she let him know she was on her way. She had been carefully shielding herself from him since his operation, he found he missed her terribly. 

“Good morning, mother.” Spock looked up from his soup as his mother walked into the room looking as lovely as she always did.

“Hello Spock.” She greeted his son before turning to her husband. “I don't think I've felt this nauseous since that time on Risa!”

Unaware he had been projecting his discomfort onto Amanda, he quickly shielded his mind. “Forgive me.”

She gently touched his hand. “There’s nothing to forgive.”

“I have much to ask to forgiveness for, my wife.”

“Well, once we get back to Vulcan we  will have a discussion about how illogical it is to hide a serious illness from your wife but for now I’m just glad you’re safe.” She squeezed his hand, smiling fondly at her husband. 

Kirk suddenly felt like he was intruding on a deeply private moment. He glanced over to Spock who seemed suddenly very interested in a spot just above the door. 


End file.
